The use of and development of communications has grown nearly exponentially in recent years. The growth is fueled by larger networks with more reliable protocols and better communications hardware available to service providers and customers. In many cases, customers operate extensive equipment, networks, connections, systems, facilities, and devices. In some cases, it is difficult to diagnose, troubleshoot, and repair communications problems between a service provider and the customer.
In particular, communications service providers struggle with managing customer premise equipment (CPE) because of the inherent security issues of Ethernet. For example, a communications service provider may communicate directly with all of the Ethernet devices at a customer location utilizing open communications sessions. The communications sessions may be directed to Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are publicly available, increasing the likelihood that security may be bypassed, infiltrated, or otherwise violated. Communications service providers constantly strive to give both the perception of security as well as security-in-fact utilizing secure and reliable connections and communications.